Exercises to Strengthen Back Muscles
Chris FreytagDescription
Looking to strengthen your low back? Watch this short video as Chris Freytag demonstrates four exercises to strengthen back muscles that you might not have tried before. They require zero equipment—just a little space and a soft surface. These four exercises to strengthen back muscles not only help you sculpt a lean physique, but also aid in back pain or back injury prevention, too With back pain being such a common problem as we age, it’s important to keep strengthening your back with exercises like these!
You’ll start with mid-back extensions. Come down flat onto the floor or mat and relax your shoulders away from your ears. Have your nose point straight down at the floor; lift your shoulder blades up off the mat as far as you can and then back down. Your low-back extensors have to really kick in for this move! The second back strengthening exercise is called a dolphin dive. Come onto your forearms and toes for this move. Pull forward so your chin comes slightly in front of your thumbs and then push up; you’re moving at the hip flexors, keeping your abdominals engaged and your spine nice and long.
The third exercise is a forearm plank hold. Come into a plank position and engage your abdominals, holding this challenging pose for a minute. The last of the exercises to strengthen back muscles is a reverse tabletop plank. Have your heels line up with your glutes as you lift up with your lower body and release your head, neck, and shoulders before pressing up into a tabletop position. These are all great moves to strengthen your low back and sculpt a leaner physique. If you practice these exercises for a strong low-back you’ll be creating a stronger body and keeping back pain at bay. You can also try these yoga poses for back relief while you’re at it!
I have four moves for you to try to create a stronger, low back. Now, your back is made up of 24 vertebrae. You have seven vertebrae in your neck, 12 in your mid back and five in your low back. And they're back extensors and muscles all attached. So these four exercises will help to strengthen your back.
Let's start with mid back extensions. You're gonna come down flat on the mat, and you're gonna relax your shoulders away from your ears. You're just gonna have your nose point straight down at the mat and then you're gonna to lift your shoulder blades up off the mat as far as you can and back down. Your low back extensors have to really kick in just like your mid back. And a modification would be to have your hands here, for a little extra support If you're just getting started.
The second exercise is dolphin dives. So you're gonna come onto your forearms. You can go ahead and clasp your hands If you'd like, and come onto your toes. This is dolphin pose in yoga. You're gonna pull forward so that your chin comes slightly in front of your thumbs, and then push back.
You're moving at the hip flexors keeping your abdominals tight, and your spine nice and long. Working your entire core body right here, back and forth. We're then gonna move into the third exercise which is a forearm plank hold. Come down into a plank position, you can start on your knees If you're just getting started with planks. Pull those hips into alignment, or go ahead and tuck your toes and come into a full plank.
You wanna make sure your shoulders are relaxed away from your ears. Your abs are nice and tight. Your butt is down. You're contracting your quad muscles and your glutes, and hold on to this nice forearm plank. And last but not least, let's try a reverse tabletop plank.
This one is hard. So you're gonna have your heels lineup with your glutes, and your fingertips facing towards your glutes. Relax your shoulders away from your ears, and then you're gonna lift up with the lower body first. Get those hips up, pull your abdominals in nice and tight. And when you're ready release your head, neck and shoulders, press up into tabletop.
Keep your abdominals nice and tight. You're gonna hold on to it, and release. Do the best you can with those four moves. But if you practice them, it will help to strengthen your low back.
Share tips, start a discussion or ask other students a question. If you have a question for the instructor, please click here.
Already a member? Sign in
No Responses to “Exercises to Strengthen Back Muscles”